More parking available for Inaugural commuters

OmniRide has added another option for commuters on Inauguration Day.

The commuter bus service had announced Tuesday that riders will be able to use park and ride lots in Woodbridge, Lake Ridge and near Manassas to take a free bus the closest Metrorail station.

Now the Woodbridge campus of Northern Virginia Community College has offered their 1,500 parking spaces to commuters, who will be able to park and catch a free bus to the Springfield Metro station.

The first leg of OmniRide's special inaugural service will begin Tuesday at 4 a.m. and last until 9 that morning.

During that time, buses will shuttle people from the Horner Road commuter lot in Woodbridge and the Gordon Boulevard-Va. 123 commuter lot in Lake Ridge to the Springfield Metro station.

Passengers riding from the Manassas area will be able to board buses at the Manassas campus of Northern Virginia Community College and be shuttled to the West Falls Church Metro station.

From 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., the buses will circulate people from the Metro stations to Prince William County. After 3 p.m. buses will only carry people back into the county.

The announcement comes more than a week after local and state officials announced the closure of Interstate 395 north and I-66 east. Those major arteries were closed after the U.S. Secret Service decided to close all bridges that normally bring cars into Washington from Virginia.

All cars will be diverted onto the Capital Beltway at the Springfield mixing bowl and near Tysons Corner.

No OmniRide buses will be traveling into Washington on Tuesday.

While the transit system is doing it's best to minimize delays on that day, officials admit it will not be easy.

The buses' on-time performance schedule will admittedly depend on how bad traffic congestion is Tuesday, transit officials said.

"All of our available fleet and people resources are being deployed, tempered by regulations governing hours of service that an operator can work and the need to insure an adequate supply of operators the day before and the day after," said OmniRide's executive director, Alfred Harf.

The buses will also face unprecedented restrictions on I-95 and I-395's High Occupancy Vehicle express lanes.

Commuter buses rely heavily on those lanes during morning and evening rush hours.

Beginning Saturday, the HOV lanes, from Dumfries to the 14th Street Bridge will only run in the northbound direction.

They should stay that way until the inaugural ceremonies are over, said Virginia State Police Col. Steven Flahrety.

While Monday morning's commute will not be affected, the afternoon commute will, said Harf.

OmniRide will operate their Emergency Service Plan Monday afternoon, which means only picking up passengers from the Springfield and West Falls Church Metro stations and taking them back to points in Prince William County. Under the plan, those Monday afternoon buses will also be free.

Harf warned the HOV restrictions could remain in effect through Wednesday morning, meaning the same emergency plan could be in effect -- only this time in reverse.

Regular travel patterns should resume no later than Wednesday afternoon, he said.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.